Tomb Raider 2013 Rewritten
by jakeryan234
Summary: Tomb Raider 2013 with some big differences, most noticeably being the role of Alex throughout the story. Expect lots of fluff at certain points. Some chapters will contain gore and/or strong language, there will be no explicit sexual content. If you love Lara, Alex, and them as a couple, this is for you! College is making things slow, but I'm NOT done. I will continue writing soon.
1. Chapter 1

A famous explorer once said that "the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are". After everything I've been through, I can tell you all about extraordinary. It's strange looking back on everything and remembering who I was before. All the events before Yamatai, while far more pleasant, have proven to be painfully ordinary in comparison. As a recent archaeology graduate, little did I know I would soon be exposed a legion of unexplainable phenomena and peril.

The Nishimura family, which my best friend Sam was part of, had helped fund an expedition to find a lost japanese kingdom - after I had shared with them my theories on the location. Of course Sam came with to film our trip, along with Jonah and Alex. Alex and I had actually been dating for a while before this trip. Needless to say, I trusted them all immensely, but I still trusted Conrad Roth most of all. He was an ex-marine and close family friend for as long as I can remember. There was also Dr. James Whitman, a famous archaeologist that I had respected, and Joselyn Reyes, who was a mechanic that I was barely acquainted with. Angus Grimaldi was the helmsman of the Endurance whom we would become very familiar with.

I'd set out to make my mark; to find adventure - but instead, adventure found me. It was the twenty-second day of the trip and we were just south of Japan, at the dragons triangle, when all hell broke loose. I had just said goodnight to Alex, and I was laying in bed listening to music. Things changed suddenly and drastically; one minute I was enjoying my music in peace, and the next I was being violently jerked around my room. I could hear a storm of horrific proportions taking place outside as my earbuds were ripped from my head and it was thrust into the ground. The pain was bad but tolerable; I had other concerns like the rushing water I heard pouring into the ship!

I darted through the ship's corridors frantically until I was taken by the water. I couldnt see anything, but somehow I made it to a ladder. The hatch wouldnt open so I pounded on it trying to break the glass, but it was clearly futile as the water washed over me. I'm twenty-one, I thought, and I'm already going to die. But in our darkest moments, when life flashes before us, we find something that keeps us going. Something that pushes us. In my case it was Roth. He pulled me up out of the water and took off yelling for me to keep going. As I looked up and started running, I noticed the Endurance was falling to pieces all around me.

Ahead of me the ship was ripped in half! Roth was on the other side urging me to jump, and with my adrenaline pumping there was no debating my next action. I jumped and Roth caught me on the other side, but I slipped right out of his grasp. It's a good thing I was a good swimmer, because I plunged so far below the surface that I barely made it back. Desperately, I cut through the water towards the shore. When I made it everyone was gone, but I could hear Jonah and Reyes in the distance.

"Reyes! Jonah! Im here!" I belted at the top of my lungs. No reply. As I took in my surroundings, I noticed most of the beach was covered in ship wreckage, but it couldn't have all been ours. Could somebody else have discovered-CLUNK! In mid-thought I was bashed in the head with what felt like a rock.

When I regained consciousness, I was tied up and being dragged away. My vision hazy, I tried to figure out where I was. It appeared to be a cave, and there were candles everywhere and other shapes I couldn't make out. I blacked out again, but when I woke up again I felt blood rushing to my head. I was hung upside down, and I figured out what the other shapes were: skeletons.

Instinctively I started squirming around trying to get out of my encasing, but I couldnt get free. I was in some sort of cloth sheet, tied up with rope, but I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. There was another one of these cloth objects next to me, which was dangerously close to a torch on the wall. Thank god. I figured I could knock the thing into the fire and maybe spread the flames onto my ropes, so I started swinging back and forth. This was going to hurt. When I gained enough momentum, I was able to accomplish my goal. When my ropes were on fire I thought I was going to burn when I started falling.

Down I fell into the deep depths of the cave, until I slammed right into the ground. The pain was excruciating, but I was too terrified to just lay there. I had to get out of here. I stumbled around trying to get up until I made it to my feet. Oh god, no… no, no… The ground was littered with human bones, and directly ahead of me was an indistinguishable corpse tied up by the hands as part of some sort of ritual. What is this place? What happened to you? I tried to keep moving, but there was a bunch of wooden boxes, planks, and barrels piled up preventing that. I looked around and spotted a torch, which I quickly grabbed to ignite the obstacle.

I heard quickly approaching footsteps in the distance behind me so I sprinted ahead. The cave walls came together in one spot, but I didn't care; I started squeezing through. Up ahead was a dead end, but I noticed what appeared to be a barrel of fuel. It was heavy, but I pulled it up against the wall and dropped my torch in it. I backed up a ways just as it exploded, completely destroying the rocks. The cave is collapsing! Rocks began shifting and falling everywhere as I leaped into the hole I blew in the wall. Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong hands grab onto my left foot. I turned and saw a very hairy man with crazy eyes.

"Let go you bastard!" I hissed at him.

"I want to help you!" he yelled back. Yeah, right. I kicked and kicked and kicked until I got free of my assailant, and I leaped backwards as the ceiling fell and crushed him. There was loud crunching sounds as his blood sprayed onto me. That was close… Oh shit, that was close. I was horrified, but I had to keep going. The walls were caving in and crashing down around me as I ran for an exit. The cave had a steep upward slope ahead of me, but there was light at the top so I clamber up the rocks rapidly. My arms finally reached a surplus of dirt and grass, which I never thought I'd be so happy so dig my hands into.

For a while I just laid there, face in the dirt, glad to be out of that hell hole. Oh. My. God. I slowly got up and looked at the island around me. There were some mountains to my right, and the shore was in the distance in front of me and to the left. As I turned the other way, my eyes caught a glimpse of something amazing. A Lifeboat! But where are they? They must have gone inland. I hope they're okay. As I walked along what was nearly a cliff face, I noticed the only way forward now was across a tree trunk but there was land on the other side.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, take it slow. I had to push onward and meet up with the others. I was shaking all over but I steeled myself to step onto the tree. It was terrifying, but not as terrifying as what I just got through. Ok, I can do this. I can make it. It felt like an eternity crossing the gap, my anxiety growing with each second. After getting halfway across, I almost took a stumble over the side, but I avoided yet another grisly death and got back up. Eventually I was on the other side.

A short distance ahead, I approached what appeared to be a camp site. Not only that, I saw Sam's pack! They must have come this way! I went over and picked it up, while simultaneously looking around for signs of my friends.

"SAM!" I hollered. I'm not sure if I was expecting a response; just as before, I didn't receive one. I proceeded to search the bag for useful supplies. I took her camera, her box of lighters, and then I took a walkie. I picked it up and switched it on.

"Sam, Alex, Roth, Jonah... can anyone hear me?!" I really needed to hear one of their voices, but still there was only silence. I've got to find them. Just then, when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it started raining. I didn't find the cliche to be amusing at this point. Luckily, trees blocked where a fire once was, so I took a match from Sam's match box to reignite the fire. I grabbed what wood I could find nearby and then sat on a log by the fire. I took some time to reflect on everything that had happened, and I was glad nobody could see the hot tears streaming down my face. I would have given anything to have had Alex holding me, telling me everything would be alright. I needed something familiar, so I went for the best option: Sam's Camera.

The camera focuses on me, as Sam talks. Here's the soon to be famous archaeologist, Lara Croft, in her native habitat. The camera move to a mirror, showing Sam with the camera in the reflection. She's on the hunt for the lost kingdom of Yamatai, home to the fabulous Himiko, mythical Sun Queen… and ancestor of yours truly. Then I hear me telling her how this is serious. Oh sweetie, I know! I'm just trying to lighten the mood here. Everyone's so on edge. What are you so worried about? I was expressing my lack of confidence that the others would listen to me. Lara, you know this stuff better than anyone! I'm not just saying it to make you feel better. We all trust you… you've got this. The next scene Sam recorded showed me and Whitman disagreeing over virtually everything, but everyone else was taking my side. The rest of the group listened to what I had to say about Yamatai and its location. I soon turned off the camera and got some sleep, thoughts about my friends bouncing around my head.

I dreamed we were back on the Endurance, and it was almost as if my memories were playing back in my head. I saw some of the things I just watched on Sam's camera among other things. In one dream I was sitting with Sam discussing Yamatai and Queen Himiko who once ruled there when Sam decided to call Alex over to us. She leaned forward and winked at me.

'Ladies. What's happening? Hey Lara,' he said slyly as he approached. I gave him a weak smile.

'Lara never stops stressing herself out over this Yamatai stuff, she needs to be more confident. She seems to think the rest of us don't trust her calls.' Sam explained to Alex. He took off his glasses to clean them and put them back on as he turned toward me.

'Sam, Jonah and Roth all trust you…and I trust you, Lara. It doesn't matter what Reyes and Whitman think... not only are you incredibly beautiful, courageous, and hard working, but you are also one of the smartest people I've ever met. ' he replied as blushed, and then he surprised me with a swift but gentle kiss. Alex always knew how to cheer me up.

I woke up to the sun, and realized the rain was gone. I missed the rest of the group terribly, especially Alex and Sam.

I got up and started moving, trying to shift my thoughts. I can't just sit here; I've got to find something to eat. As I advanced downhill, my eyes caught onto a corpse hanging upside down from a tree branch. It was more of what was on the corpse that caught my attention: a hunting bow and arrows. I climbed up the tree until I was about level with the corpse and I reached out to grab it. I had it… but I fell from the tree and smacked into the ground.

Roth's words came to mind quickly upon picking up the weapon. "You can have the best form and techniques in the world, but it won't mean a thing if you can't focus. The key to using any weapon is focus. So hungry… I need to find something to eat. I was famished. As I glanced around looking for something to eat I spotted a deer, and it was too hard to resist. Killing an animal is no easy task, and I don't just mean physically, but survival instincts took over and before I knew it I was aiming an arrow at the deer. I hid my target dead center, and I ran over to check and, I suppose, gut the deer. It was disgusting, and I almost threw up, but I sliced along the underbelly with the blade of an arrow and took some meat back to the camp.

I roasted the meat over the fire, and after I finished eating I had a pleasant surprise. I heard Roth's voice over the radio!

"This is Conrad Roth, captain of the Endurance. We are shipwrecked on an island inside the Dragon's Triangle."

"Roth! You're Alive!"

"Lara! Easy, easy. Are you okay? What happened?"

"I remember the beach… then it went black and I woke up in a cave. There was this crazy man, Roth… and a dead body."

"Oh god… Where are you now, Lara? Are you safe?"

"It was so horrible! It's all my fault! This is all my fault…"

"Lara, listen to me. I sent an SOS from the Endurance before I abandoned her. Hopefully someone caught it. I've spoken to others; we're regrouping at my location. I'm in some abandoned village by the mountains."

"Please come and get me…"

"I have to stay here… you can do this Lara. Remember when we climbed Snowden? You said the key was knowing that all you've got to do is just keep moving. Remember everything I've taught you, Lara, you're ready for this. Keep your radio on." With that, Roth's voice was gone. I had to press on… just keep moving. Roth believed in me, now I just had to believe in myself.

I got up and kept going in the same direction I found the deer, when I approached a small building with the door hanging open.

"Hello? Is someone there?" No reply. I was getting used to that. I walked in and observed an open hatch leading underground. It looked a bit too inviting to me, but then the door swung shut behind me. Damn it. I was trapped and this was the only way forward. This could be a way through. There was a torch in there, which I grabbed before climbing down the ladder into the unknown.


	3. Chapter 3

There was one way forward at the bottom, and it was full of disgusting water… but I had no other choice so I kept on going. There was a metal bar blocking my way, but I just ducked under it. Thankfully, there were stairs leading back out of the water. I noticed a lot more human remains scattered around. I tried to pull open the door, but it was stuck so I looked for something to pry it open. In one corner of the room, there was pieces of animals, one with some sort of makeshift axe stabbed into it. It had a somewhat long, thin blade on the end, so I used it to yank open the door. There was a ladder on the other side, which I climbed up quickly, eager to get out of here.

Leaving the building, I noticed a fire burning in the distance. I had to figure out of it was one of the crew members, but I had to be quiet in case it wasn't. I walked down a path leading closer to the fire, and I was able to make out Sam's voice talking on a radio. As I approached, Sam got up quickly to see me.

"Lara! You made it!" she shouted.

I was so relieved to have found somebody else, especially since it meant I was no longer alone. "Sam! Thank goodness…" I noticed her foot was bandaged up at the same time I noticed there was somebody else there with her.

"We just spoke to your crew… They're on their way"

Sam interceded, "look, he bandaged my foot!"

He spoke again. "It was the least I could do." He turned to me. "My manners, I'm sorry. I'm Matthias - a teacher by trade." As he introduced himself, he extended his hand toward me.

I hesitated for a second, analyzing him, before shaking his hand.

"Not really cut out for island life, I'm afraid," said Matthias as he limped back to the log he must have been sitting on before. He had a crutch under one arm.

I decided to sit down also. As I did, Matthias urged Sam to tell him more about Himiko. "She loves telling this story," I told him with a laugh. I had heard it hundreds of times, all about how Himiko supposedly had mystical powers and lead an army of samurai referred to as the Stormguard. Himiko apparently could even control the sun. This is where she loses me. As she was talking I fell asleep. I was still really tired.

I was startled awake by thunder, and I stood up really quick. Much to my surprise, Sam and Matthias were gone. "MATHIAS!... SAM!" I should never trusted that dodgy old man. "Shit!" This was not good at all. I grabbed my bow and took off running, but soon my foot got caught in a bear trap. I could feel the metal cutting into my left leg through my boot. I started trying to pull it off when I heard a pack of wolves howling.

I whipped out my bow and readied an arrow as I scanned the area for the predators. I had to think fast. A wolf came out of the bushes to my right, but I shot my arrow right into its head. I heard two other wolves approaching from my left and from behind, but just as they were approaching I heard a few gunshots that stopped them dead in their tracks. I could hear Reyes alerting what I assumed was the crew to my presence.

"Over here!" I belted out in desperation. The pain was becoming unbearable, but Reyes shot part of the trap and it loosened up. Jonah came running over and pried it open while I pulled my foot out. The rest of the crew was there, I noticed, save for Sam and Roth. "Sam's gone. She was here with that man... Matthias..." I could feel a temper rising when I said his name. "I passed out. They were both gone when I woke up."

This made Grim mad. "You girls shouldn't go wandering off!"

I ignored him. "We need to find them."

"Uh… Wait, what about Roth?" asked Whitman.

"Okay, let's split up," said Reyes, "One of us go with Lara and meet up with Roth, the rest of us should fan out and look for Sam."

Alex was already by my side hugging me, but Whitman decided to join us. "I'll, uh… I'll go with too."

Reyes glared at him, but she gave in. "Do you know how to use one of these?" She was referring to the gun she was holding.

"It's… it's been a while. It-it's all coming back to me," Whitman said, although he sounded a bit unsure.

I exchanged glances with Alex. Whitman could really be a pain in the ass, but Alex was good at calming me down. So now Whitman, Alex and I were off to find Roth.

There were stairs up ahead. It was already really hard to walk with my injury, and I had a bit of a limp. Alex must have noticed because he asked if I was going to be okay.

"Yes. I probably just need to rest for a few minutes."

Then Alex came over to help me, and I put one arm around him for support. When we were up the steps, there was another place to camp around a fire. We sat down, but Whitman wasn't planning on staying.

"You sit, uh… you two sit here. I'll, uh…" he cleared his throat. "I'll check up ahead." With that, he disappeared. He was not the most reliable person. Alex, on the other hand, I could always count on to stick with me.

"Leave it to Whitman to be no help whatsoever," said Alex. At that statement, we both laughed a little, but soon a troubled expression came over Alex.

"Lara, what's happened since we last saw each other?" He asked suddenly. I was hesitant at first, but I told him about everything that happened to me. When I was done, Alex looked at me in awe for a few seconds and then put his arm around me to make me feel better.

"Alex… it was horrible. I was terrified. I don't want to be alone in this place ever again…" I told him. When I said that he embraced me, and I buried my head in his chest and grabbed onto him. Tears started flowing,

"Hey, hey… you're not alone anymore. Just rest a little while... I'm not leaving your side, Lara, not for a second" After he said that, I did rest… but I didn't let go of him. It felt like I was alone for an eternity, and it meant everything to now have Alex with me again.

"I love you, Alex," I blurted out. I did love him; I had known that for quite some time now.

"And I love you, L.C.," he returned.


	4. Chapter 4

I was ready to walk again after a while, and Alex and I went to find Whitman. We walked for a while until we crossed some bridge, which was when we encountered some trouble. There were more wolves. I quickly took out my bow to take one out, but one got to Alex, who was weaponless at the moment. I shot it right in the gut, and Alex shoved it off himself. He had blood all over him. I was relieved to find out it was from the wolf.

"Whoa, nice aiming there! I thought I was done for," he said. I helped him back up.

"Thanks… that was too close," I said, still on edge. "He could have warned us about the wolves. Are you alright?"

Alex still looked tense as well. "Yeah, I'm all good," he said with forced enthusiasm. "I really need to find some kind of weapon." I told him I would give him the axe the next time we ran into trouble.

When we found Whitman, he was studying drawings on the doors of an old wall. "Fascinating… two distinct styles. These are fascinating!"

They looked like the drawings I saw in that cave and in the passage underneath the two buildings. "I've seen these before… they must be ritualistic," I replied. As I said that, I noticed two switches that cranked to open the door.

Whitman must have noticed them too. "See if you can work the other one," he suggested.

The handle was missing, but I had an idea. I inserted the end of the axe into the mechanism, which allowed me to turn it. We got the door open and hurried through as it closed behind us. When we were on the other side, I handed my axe to Alex.

"Here. This way you'll already have it in case you need it."

"Thanks Lara."

Whitman started talking again. "That female figure on the gate… given the age of the symbols, it could be the Sun Queen"

"Himiko?" questioned Alex.

"Are you sure you're not channeling Sam, Dr. Whitman?" I tried not to laugh as I said that.

"Well, there's no doubt that Himiko had power. Many say shamanistic, or even elemental!

"It figures a woman wields that much power and sooner or later it gets called witchcraft!" Alex retorted.

"We shouldn't discredit anything, even if it seems irrational to us. There's much we still have to learn about the world," replied Whitman

"You sound exactly like my father," I commented.

He seemed not to have heard that statement as he continued. "It could be one hell of a story, Lara."

"Not if we don't live to tell it…" I responded plainly.

Then we noticed we had approached a statue of Himiko, but there was a bowl and candles just like in the cave. This was very odd.

"Why is she still being worshipped?" I wondered out loud.

"This island must once have been part of Yamatai! You were right Lara! It's like finding Atlantis!" he shouted with joy.

I attempted to bring him back to earth. "This is real, Dr. Whitman. We're not standing on a myth."

"No, more like a gold mine!"

As he said that, he sounded a bit too excited about this all.

Suddenly, we had company. They told us our friends we're hurt, as they started surrounding us. I could see Alex contemplating his next move, but Whitman was slowly putting down his gun.

Whitman spoke: "I don't any trouble. We'll come, but I insist that afterwards you bring us to the person in charge!"

"Dammit" Alex murmured.

I took out my bow in attempt to take some of them down, but someone dropped down from a tree above me and grabbed me to tie my hands behind my back. Alex swung the axe at my captors head, but he was stopped and also tied up.

Whitman spoke again: "You both just go along with them. Do whatever they say!" He was seriously getting on my nerves… he was just about useless.

They took us to a camp where the others were located, near the mountains. I couldn't see them, but I heard Grim yelling. The one who captured me pointed at Alex. "If he gives you any trouble, kill him."

"Please don't hurt him!" I yelled. As I did, the man shoved me into a tree.

"I said silence, girl!" He yelled back, and he grabbed my throat.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Alex screamed.

He raised his gun and turned to execute Alex, but I lunged forward, knocking him over and sending the gun flying. Alex started attacking the other man as I dove for my captor's gun. I struggled to grab the gun and aim at him as he recovered speedily and approached me. I missed and he was on top of my, trying to turn the gun on me; however, I turned it back on him and fired right into his face. The bullet tore apart the top of his head, sending blood and brain matter spraying in every direction. As I shoved the mutilated corpse off of me, I heard the sickening sound of an axe lodging itself into somebody's face.

I jerked around trying to see what happened, but luckily Alex was okay. I turned away, so as not to see the corpse, when I caught a glimpse of the man I killed again. It was horrific what I had just done to somebody… his face was disfigured beyond recognition. I tried to stand up quickly, but I doubled over and vomited.

"Oh god!" I shrieked. Alex ran over and pulled me into a warm embrace again.

"Lara, they were going to kill us! We had to! But if we don't get out of here, they will kill us!"

"I know… we have to try to rescue the others first though."

"Okay let's go," he said while he helped me up. He must have also thrown up, because he had the stench to prove it. I figured now wasn't the time to discuss this. We grabbed the guns and were on our way.

We started sneaking around the camp until we approached a large building on the top of a hill. Reyes, Grim and Jonah were in front guarded by a few of the enemies. We kept our distance and took them by surprise. We shot two down, and as the others turned their guns in our direction our friends took off running toward a forest area. They got enough distance where they couldn't get shot, and Alex and I took off in the other direction.

We were on a path that led up into the mountains. We got to what appeared to be a dead end, but there was a ladder coming down, which we climbed and got further up the mountain. Suddenly I heard Roth on the radio.

"Lara, are you there?"

"Yes!"

"I can see smoke coming from the old ruins, are you okay?"

"Oh god… Roth, we're in trouble. They tried to kill us! We had to kill some of them, we had no choice."

"That can't have been easy."

"Roth, it's scary just how easy it was..."

"You just do whatever it takes to get to me."

"We're coming to find you."

"We? Are you with the others?"

"I'm with Alex."

"Okay good. Keep each other safe!"

With that, he was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

I turned to face Alex, but when I did his eyes got all wide.

"Shit, Lara! You're bleeding!" He ran over and ripped the left sleeve from his t-shirt. I looked at my arm, and sure enough, it was slowly oozing blood. He grabbed my upper arm tenderly and tightened the material around the wound. I winced when he knotted it, but I was not about to complain. When he was done he put his hands on my shoulders.

"There, that should stop the bleeding," he said softly.

"Thank you, Alex…" I said. We were very close together; there was only a couple inches between us. We pressed against each other as our lips met, but we were interrupted when gunfire came out of nowhere.

Alex grabbed my hand and lead the both of us away from danger, behind the corner of another old Japanese building. We both were caught our breath and prepared to defend ourselves, but Alex got all wide-eyed again as he looked in my direction.

"Get down!" Alex yelled. I dropped as fast as I could as he fired his gun several times. When I turned around, there was one of those crazy islanders bleeding out on the ground.

I scanned the area for means of escape, but Alex drew my attention to a lengthy rope leading to another part of the cliff on the other side of a waterfall. We could get across, we would just have to use the non-blade surface of the ax. We sprinted at maximum velocity in the direction of the rope, barely missing a barrage of bullets being fired at us. Alex hoisted me onto his back as he pulled out the ax, and I put my hands on both sides of the ax over his own. We sped across with rapid acceleration, using it as a zip line, and we succeeded in our narrow escape from yet another violent death. When we were on the other side, Alex cut through the rope, making it impossible for our pursuers to follow us.

Up ahead there was a small crack in the rock wall, but it was large enough that I considered using it to get to the top. We would have to press against one side with our backs and the other with our legs. It would be a bit dangerous, but we needed to get out of here quickly or we would have more hostile company.

"You thinking what Im thinking Alex?" I asked, although I felt I already knew the answer.

"Lets do this!" He exclaimed, trying not to sound nervous. He went right over to the wall though, and I followed. It was wide enough for us both to ascend simultaneously, so I took the inside and Alex took the outside. The climb was a little challenging, but Alex and I had accomplished tougher climbs for fun prior to the Yamatai expedition. It was still dangerous though, and it got became more nerve-racking the higher our elevation was.

We made quick work of the wall, only stopping for a break once when Alex almost fell. His foot slipped, but I helped stabilize him and get him back on track. Aside from that, we didn't have much trouble getting to the top.

We had finally completed the climb, and as we got back on our feet we noticed a village in the distance. We heard gunshots, and we could make out a tall, lean man who must have been Roth! Alex and I ran at full speed toward the scene as we pulled out our hand guns. Then one wolf clamped down on Roth's lower leg as another yanked his pack off of him. There was a disgusting sound of tearing flesh as the other wolf released Roth's leg, and the wolves took off for a cave a little ways uphill. We released several rounds, but we weren't able to hit any of them. Both of us then hurried to Roth's side and helped him back to the camp site he had prepared.

"Thank god you're alive, Roth!" I cried. I was about to comment on the condition of his leg when Alex came in.

"Damn. They did a real number on your leg..." he said.

"Its good to see you both. My leg isn't as bad as it looks," he explained. I doubted that; his entire calf was torn open, exposing the bone and the muscles. I had to look away, because in addition to the gore, I could see the muscles moving with his breathing. I felt burning hot bile rise in my throat, but I held it back this time.

"Have you heard from the others?" inquired Alex. Roth shook his head.

"We need to do something about your leg, and fast," I chimed in. He would lose a fatal amount of blood of we didn't do something.

"All my supplies are in my pack..." Roth stated.

"We need to get that pack, this isn't something that can be bandaged up with a t-shirt." Alex seemed to have more confidence as he decided the course of action. He was right; we needed to go into that cave and get the supplies back or Roth could die. He suddenly lost consciousness, which was more motivation to get moving. I went with Alex to the cave; I couldn't have him getting killed just for some supplies. That selfless part of Alex, that he would risk his life to save others, was one of the many reasons I had so much respect from him. To some he may seem to be just a dork or a goofball, but there was so much more to Alex Weiss than that.

The opening of the cave was right in front of us. With guns drawn, we entered. Alex went first and I followed. As we walked through the cave it got progressively darker, and I found my free hand gripping tightly onto Alex's as we trudged onward. A shadow of a wolf darted across the cave wall and we jumped and spun around but we couldn't spot the wolf. We turned back around to keep walking and shortly we had our eyes on Roth's pack. I hastily picked it up and we crept back the way we came.  
Suddenly a wolf came out of nowhere and knocked me over and was snapping at my face. I pushed against it with all the strength I could muster, but the wolf was going to win. Alex hit the wolf with the axe, but it just came right back to me as it started bleeding all over the place. I whipped out a screw driver from the pack. Something came over me and I just started stabbing until I felt the wolf go limp. I was all bloody, and it kept coming out of the wolf. Alex threw the wolf off of me and helped me onto my feet before guiding me out of the cave at a swift pace. He didn't say anything when he got me out of there, he just kissed me carefully and held me for a while as I recovered from a panic attack. He didn't seem to mind the fact that I was drenched in blood.

"Alright, we should get the supplies back to Roth, I'm okay now," I assured him. I was sure I still looked like a train wreck. Anyways, we returned to Roth (who was still unconscious). We pulled out the first aid kit and cleaned up the wound before wrapping it up. He was alive but still out cold. Alex and I curled up together and rested as we waited for Roth to wake up.

When Roth came to, he must have been surprised at how well we patched him up, because he asked "Where does a girl like you learn how to do that?"

"Late shift at the Nine Bells... A wolf has got nothing on a broken bottle," I replied, and Alex chuckled. It was true. One night there was a guy that got too flirty with me, and Alex was there and he told the man to stop. The guy was crazy... He attacked Alex with a broken bottle, and although Alex took him down the guy sliced up his arm, which was when I had helped bandage him.

Roth was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "You need to get my radio to that broadcasting tower," he started, pointing at a far away tower we could barely see, "I'm not going to be doing any climbing for a while. Lara, you can do this... For heavens sake, you're a Croft."

"I don't know if I'm that kind of Croft, the kind my father was..."

"Of course you are, you just don't know it yet. Now go broadcast an SOS, I have the utmost confidence in you." With that, he drifted off again.

"Lara, he was right you know. But you're not alone, I'll be with you every step of the way," asserted Alex. We embraced each other gently, and our lips joined together as we kissed. We hadn't kissed this passionately once since we crashed on this island


	6. Chapter 6

"We're going to have to find the communications console... It'll look like a bunch of old switchboards. I'll know where to find it, lets go." He took my hand when he finished speaking, and instinctively we wove our fingers together. We continued along the trail up the mountain.

As we approached a small waterfall, I could hear voices in the distance. There were two small buildings, each on opposite sides of the stream extending from the waterfall. We wouldn't get past without being noticed. There were two armed men on the left and one on the right; Alex motioned for me to take on the one. Before planning my attack, I sneaked around some bushes to get behind him, then allowing my instincts to take over as I pulled my bow over his head. When the wood was tight against his neck, I yanked upward at an angle as I rotated the bow, and there was the loud crunch of his neck snapping. There were two gunshots almost immediately after that. The other two men had been eliminated.

I started walking over to Alex as some guilty thoughts ran through my head. I had just killed someone again, and so had Alex... It was a truly horrible thing to be responsible for.

"Are you okay, Alex?" I questioned in the softest tone I could manage.

"Not really. This doesn't exactly get any easier..." He responded.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed lightly as I spoke. "You and I both... We can keep each other sane, we just have to keep moving."

With that we got back on the trail to the radio tower. We soon came up to a really old bridge, and we were hesitant about crossing it. When we got half way across the whole thing started collapsing. Taking of running, we sped across. Jumping became the only option when the bridge was falling out from under us, so through the air we soared. Alex made it right across to land, but I wasn't so lucky. I flung my arms out wildly but all I could do was claw at the grass. When all seemed to be lost, I felt the comforting grasp of Alex's hands as he pulled me up.

"Shit! That was too close!" He exclaimed. He pulled me very close, and he calmed me down quite quickly. Suddenly, Reyes voice came through the radio. "Lara, Alex... Are you there?"

Alex responded. "Reyes!" He held the radio so we could both speak into it.

"Did you find Sam?" I inquired.

"Were still on her trail..." was her response.

"Alex and I are headed to an old radio tower to send out an SOS."

"Okay, good luck. I'm assuming you know what to do Alex?" said Reyes.

"Oh, yeah. I know what to do. We'll contact you when we're done." Alex affirmed before clicking off the radio. We continued walking and came across another rope we could use as a zip line. So I jumped on Alex's back as we grabbed the edges of the ax handle and walked off the edge. There was a very unstable landing, and we tumbled onto the ground.  
I was on top of him, so I asked, "Did you do that on purpose. Alex?" He looked up at me to see I was smiling. I leaned down and started kissing him as he ran his hands through my hair. We snapped back to our situation when we heard voices again. Well, at least they didn't sneak up on us. That seemed to be our job now.

There were several armed men this time, and this was the only way forward. I knew what I had to do; I grabbed my bow. One was sitting apart from the others, so I took him out first. Then I went for one of the other four when the three weren't looking.

"Jim! Fuck, somebody killed Jim!" cried one of them. They were on to us. Alex whipped out his gun and took two of them out. I lined up my arrow, and aiming at the last man standing, I delivered a fatal blow into his neck. It was incredibly disturbing to see his arms thrashing around as blood sprayed from the wound while he screamed and coughed it up also. To divert my attention, Alex started joking as he hugged me.

"Well clearly you passed the archery exam," he said. It wasn't even that funny, but a laugh forced itself out. Alex was always able to do that somehow.

When reaching the point where the men were standing, we saw our way onward. There was a tone of rock with a small opening toward the middle. I had already done this the other day, so I went right through. Alex inched through behind me. Now there was an a way forward and an alcove in the rock, but we needed a break so I went to the alcove. I'm sure it was gladly that Alex followed me. We scavenged some wood, and Alex pulled out a lighter to start the fire.

"Its a good thing those goons didn't take this from me a few days back!" he commented. Then we sat down to rest and I pulled out the camera.

"The other day when I was alone, watching these videos was the closest thing to comfort I could get," I explained as I switched on the camera and resumed from where I stopped before. We laid down and curled together as we watched, and I gladly welcomed Alex's arm as it wrapped around my waist.

Grim was telling a story. 'So I was on the Loch right, doin' a sport of midnight fishing, when this thing comes loomin' at me, loomin' out of the water it was! So I gives it the old Glassgow kiss, you know..." He leaned forward a little and dipped his head slightly. 'Gets you out of trouble nine times out of ten, that does!... Yeah... It took me a week to sleep that night off, and I've not touched a drop since!'

The next scene was one I had filmed, and Alex was next to me filming it with the much bigger camera we had on the Endurance. Jonah was teaching the incompetent Whitman how to prepare fish, which was actually quite amusing.

The scene shifted to a conversation between Roth and I, which I had no idea Sam filmed. 'I've studied them so much, I can see the charts on the back of my eyelids... But if I'm not right about Yamatai being in the Dragon's Triangle...'

'You've got great instincts, Lara. You just need to trust them.'

'That's what my father uses to say.'

'And he would've been proud of you.'

I turned off the camera and set it down as I turned toward Alex so our faces were hardly an inch apart. I briefly gazed into his eyes before our lips crashed together harmoniously. As I advanced past his lips we both tightened our grip on each other. We stayed at it for a long time until we needed to pull away for air.

"You know, for a minute there I forgot we were on an island full of homicidal psychopaths! That was amazing."

"Yeah, I concur L.C. We need to do that more often, but we should get some rest. Oh, and Roth was right, by the way," he determined. I laid next to him and relaxed my head on his chest.

"I love you so much..." Alex murmured sleepily.

"Well I love you way more," I said back with a grin. I gripped him tightly and he followed in suit. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Lara". Sleep swiftly came upon us as we rested there together. My dreams were laced with my memories with Alex.

When I was a senior in high school, my parents went missing. It was then that Roth (a family friend) became my guardian. A few years later, during the summer before my last year of college, Roth introduced me to his best friend's son, who happened to be Alex. We hit it off from the start, and it was not surprising that we started dating soon after that. It was a consistent relationship throughout the year, and I begged Roth to bring him on-board with the Yamatai expedition, which began a couple weeks after graduation. During the three weeks we spent traveling on the Endurance, Alex and I would plan dates at each place we stopped.

I was suddenly pulled out of my wonderful dream, but my happiness returned when I saw and felt Alex. He was still sleeping, but I woke him with a kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning, beautiful," returned Alex. He waited before adding "As much as I hate to say this, we really should head to the radio tower."

We both got up, but I stopped Alex before he started walking by placing my hands on his shoulders, and then I gave him a kiss, pushing hard against his lips. I brought one hand to his face gently, then I pulled away just enough so I could look in his eyes. "You and I... We stick together. No matter what." I stated.

"I wouldn't want it any other way. I wouldn't even consider leaving you," he promised. His eyes showed how sincere his words were, and that he wasn't just talking about on this island.

"So this is going to be a long term relationship then... ."

"Hell yes, Lara... Preferably as long term as possible. I know there are better times to have this conversation, but if we don't make it off this island I need you to know that I would spend the rest of my life with you."

"Oh, Alex!" I blushed. I paused for a moment. "I feel the same way... Now lets get off this damn island so we can live our lives."

"That's some damn good motivation!" Alex shot back enthusiastically. "Let's get this show on the road!"

I held his head in my hands as we had another intense lip-lock. "I still love you more," I said, holding back a laugh

"I'm not sure if its possible for anyone to love somebody more than I love you, L.C." He replied.

We held each other there for a moment. When we were ready, we grabbed each others hand and started off toward the radio tower again.

Up the mountain trail we hiked for hours, until we approached a massive World War II era bunker right by the radio tower. We had company. We quickly got behind a truck, narrowly missing bullets. Stealth was not an option. Alex poked his arm out and pulled it back. He waited for the firing to cease before peering around the truck and firing several rounds.

"Okay, I think I got one of them." Just as he said that, somebody came around the other side of the truck. My gun was already out so I took him down. This time we both went out from cover as we shot at our opponents, and a couple more of them went down. We got back behind the truck, but Alex took a shot in his hip before getting to safety.

"Fuck! That hurts!" He hissed. That was it; these assholes were going to pay right now. I grabbed my bow and went back out. Time seemed to stand still as I shot the remaining three men in the head. I know it was wrong, but in that moment it felt so good to hurt the people that hurt Alex. I went back to him.

"Alright love, lets get this wound cleaned up..." I pulled out some bandages. The bullet went straight through, so at least I would have to go digging around for it. He yelled when I cleaned it with alcohol, but after that he was fine. When I was done I caressed him lovingly.

"Thanks L.C.," said Alex, "Just like old times, huh?"

"I'm just glad you didn't get killed..." I sighed, relieved.

"The console should be in this building somewhere... but lets be careful, there could be some of those men in there," replied Alex. Cautiously, we entered the building. "This way!" said Alex, grabbing my hand as he lead me down a corridor straight ahead. There was a door ahead and another on the right, but we went through the one on the right. There was a giant window in the room, showing the next two rooms ahead. The one in the middle had windows on both sides. We walked into the middle room, but the door to the third was jammed. Then a man appeared on the other side of the glass, with a gas mask on and some sort of contraption in his hands.

"There's nowhere to run, outsiders!" he screamed as he let off a bunch of yellow gas. It was already coming into the room with Alex and I. We ran back to the previous room as I searched frantically for something to stop the gas. Suddenly Alex picked up some kerosene lamp from the wall and threw it into the next room. There was an explosion of flames as the room was blown to bits. We could now walk right through.

As we walked through the third room, our attacker was laying on the ground. His flesh was all burnt off and bloody, with bones exposed in some areas.  
"Please, just kill me. End it already!" he begged desperately. Seemingly without hesitation, Alex shot him, killing him instantly.

In the next room there was a large stairway. When we got to the top we approached what I assumed was the communications console... but it was a wreck. Alex facepalmed.  
"Damn it. Now were going to have to patch in manually through the maintenance panel."

"Hey. We can do it, Alex... the towers right outside."

"Yes, but we need to get really high up."

"... How high are we talking?"

"Really high. Were talking about the top of the tower. We can both go up to a certain point, but from then on it will be a one person trip."

"I'll do i-"

"No."

Yes, Alex. I'm lighter so I have less a chance of breaking the rings on that ladder, which you said yourself is really old."

"Fair point. Well lets get out there then."

We went back and left the building. The tower was right there, so we walked over and climbed the first ladder. I went first and then Alex.

"Its a nice view from here!" Alex laughed.

I laughed also. I yelled at him, faking an angry voice. "Stop looking at my ass, Alex!"

"I actually wasn't... But hey, thanks for that idea!"

I waited for Alex at the top. I was going to punch him in the shoulder playfully, but I noticed the uneasy look in his face. He was joking around back there just to calm himself down.

"Okay, this is it. All you need to do is tune the radio once you get up there," Alex expressed sounding a bit unsure, "Please be really careful, if you fall..." He couldn't finish the sentence. I don't think he wanted to think about what would happen to me if I fell; I didn't blame him.

"I'll be careful, and I'll be right back... Love you" I reassured him as I brought my lips against his.

It wasn't a particularly difficult climb, but still I used extreme caution... especially as I got closer to the top. I didn't dare look down once. I was almost there when a rung broke. I launched myself off the rung I was standing on and quickly grabbed the next one up. There were no further issues the rest of the way there. I stood on a small platform at the top, and there was a box in front of me. Inside was the radio, with dials and indicators to tune frequency. It was easy to do, but it still took forever. Nonetheless, I eventually reached a tuning where I could hear voices clearly. I pulled out the radio from Roth.

"Mayday, mayday! This is Lara Croft of the Endurance. We are stranded on an island in the Dragon's Triangle. We need help and medical supplies, please respond."

"This is aircraft N177A. Searching for you since your the distress call from your vessel, almost given up hope! We've got your approximate location... But we could sure use a visual."

"I'll figure something out"

"Good, headed your way right now!"

I started the journey back. When I got to the broken rung I just reached down to the next one carefully. I continued down to where Alex was. There was a loud breath of relief.

"Thank god your okay!" Alex exclaimed, "What happened?"

"I got a hold of somebody, they're in the area and on their way! We need to make some kind of signal, fast!"

We climbed back down quickly and searched around back on the ground before coming to our best option. There were several tanks of fuel. If we could ignite the substance we would have our signal. So we sliced them open. When we finished, Alex pulled out his lighter.

"Alright, here goes nothing. We need to run when I light it!" Alex yelled. He ignited some of the fuel on the ground and grabbed my hand as we got the hell out of there.

In a few minutes, we saw an aircraft heading our way. But just when we thought we were the luckiest people alive, colossal bolts of lightning ripped through the air. They struck the aircraft, and the pilot ejected himself as the vehicle spiraled out of control and crashed into some trees nearby. The pilot got carried away in the wind, higher up the mountain than our location.

"We have to go find him... Before the other people do!" I shrieked.


End file.
